Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

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dogseal
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Suzuki 2-Strokes: gt550 ts125 ts100 ts250er ts185 t350 gt500
Location: Sheffield UK

Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Post by dogseal »

Hi to all,
Finally got my bike road legal, and have been on a few runs on it..all good apart from the front brake which is binding occasionally. I've rebuilt both the caliper & the master cylinder with nos parts apart from the pads & hose, the hose is a new braided wemoto item & the pads took a bit of reworking to get them a nice fit in the slider. I've just had the master cylinder apart for the 3rd time after a run out tonight. When I got home, the disc was too hot to touch. It seems as if the pressure on the pads is'nt releasing when I let the brake off.

The master cylinder piston is free in the housing, the whole system is spotless, Am I missing something?
cheers for any input.

Tim.
yeadon_m
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Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT380B, GT550B, GT750A, GSX1400

Re: Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Post by yeadon_m »

Tim, annoying for you. Two things come to mind. Does the caliper float nicely on its pins? When cleaning the m/cyl, did you confirm that the tiny (well sub-1mm diameter) hole is clear? If design is similar to GT550 masters, that hole can be difficult to clear but essential to releasing the brake. One test is to remove caliper but leave hose connected; pump the piston out 5mm; can you easily and smoothly push it back in? If not, that hole in master may well be blocked.
Good luck.
Cheers, Mike
GT750Battleship
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Re: Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Post by GT750Battleship »

:up: +1 on the advice by Mr Yeadon... :D
Cheers,
GT750Battleship.
GT750Battleship.
Barry S.
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Re: Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Post by Barry S. »

If it takes the same brake pads as the 750 there may be a problem with them. Some of the pads are flat on back and some have a cup or recess on back to clear the piston in the caliper. If you have flat ones and needed the cupped ones it will drag and smoke the brake disc, I put the wrong ones in my 750 and it about locked up a mile from home.
2007 Suzuki V-Strom DL650
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Coyote
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Re: Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Post by Coyote »

Did you remember to apply caliper grease to the caliper axles? One way to tell if that is the problem. With everything cold, sit on the bike and observe the caliper when you apply the bake. If it tries to 'tweek' one way or the other, it's not sliding freely. The brake calipers are self centering, but only if they are free to slide.
I was born with nothing and still have most of it left.

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1978 GS1000C
1976 GT550 ongoing money pit.
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dogseal
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Suzuki 2-Strokes: gt550 ts125 ts100 ts250er ts185 t350 gt500
Location: Sheffield UK

Re: Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Post by dogseal »

Cheers guys, thanks for all the replies, Mike, it was the small hole in the master cylinder. I stripped it down again & poked the hole through with a bit of wire..the hole was completely blocked. I've just done 20 miles on it & its working great.

Great Forum Lads!

Tim
yeadon_m
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Suzuki 2-Strokes: GT380B, GT550B, GT750A, GSX1400

Re: Suzuki Gt500 front brake problem.

Post by yeadon_m »

Tim, Glad to have been of help.

Thats the essence of the forum - the stuff I've learned from all of you stands me in great stead when facing a WTF moment myself :-))

Nice to have a diagnosis from afar too. Just today I sorted a GT550 oil pump that a PO had helpfully put the lever cam in 180 degrees out - so that it dumped oil like crazy at idle. The problem was driving me mad but someone on a forum said 'its a long shot but...' and that was indeed it. I would not have guessed it was possible.

Cheers!
Mike
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